I’ve always loved programs where a whole community is encouraged to read and discuss the same book. There’s something wonderful about creating a common bond among people by using quality literature. When you think about it, too many of our common bonds these days come from shows like American Idol, and while there’s nothing wrong with a good dose of bad singing every now and again, there’s something special about centering our water cooler chat around a book or a set of ideas.
You might be thinking, “Well of course she feels that way! She’s an author!” and to some extent you’re right. Not only that, but I’m an author who is over the moon right now because my book, The Liberation of Gabriel King, has been chosen as a kids companion book for the Silicon Valley Reads program. Not every community wide reading program has the thoughtfulness to include a book that’s appropriate for kids so that children can be part of the discussion, but this one has. Kudos to Silicon Valley. In fact, they’ve chosen two companion books — mine and the picture book The Other Side by Jacqueline Woodson. The adult book is Not a Genuine Black Man by Brian Copeland. Each book deals with the theme of race for a different age group.
But I digress, because it isn’t just because my book is included that I admire the efforts of Silicon Valley Reads and other community wide reading programs. There’s a lot more to it than that. Here are the top ten reasons why I hope every community decides to use Silicon Valley Reads as a model:
1) Laziness. What does laziness have to do with a community wide book reading event? Well, think about it. What’s one of the biggest reasons we turn on the TV before we pick up a book? TV is so much easier. I can sit still and be entertained without lifting a finger, and many times, without having to really think. Books challenge us, and that’s a good thing. We need to be challenged, as individuals and as a society.
2) Children. It’s ironic that most community reading programs don’t think to include a companion book for kids even though encouraging children to read is one of the best things we can do for our future. Kids who read broadly are kids who think broadly. And kids who think broadly turn into adults who invent, make new policies, create great art, cure diseases, discover solar systems, formulate new equations, give generously, and change the world for the better.
3) Modeling. Even if a community wide reading program doesn’t include a companion book for kids, it’s still important that children see adults reading. So often, we’re thrilled when our children read, but we’re too busy to model that behavior. Kids get the message that reading is something they have to do while they’re in school, but as soon as they’re old enough they can stop. We need to send a message that says: “Stop? Who would ever want to stop reading?!”
4) Pleasure. Reading a good book can make us feel energized. Enlivened. It can open up neural pathways that have been lying dormant, and remind us of what makes life interesting. Books make us laugh and cry and delight our senses.
5) Pain. Reading a good book makes us feel something — sometimes those feelings might be outrage, shock, sadness, anger, insult. I’m willing to bet that Brian Copeland’s Not a Genuine Black Man is a book that will make readers feel something, and when it comes to discussions of race in America, those feelings aren’t always easy. But they are important.
6) Discussion. What happens to feelings when they’re suppressed? Sometimes they fester. Sometimes the situation that prompted the feeling is doomed to be repeated until we can figure out how to change. Sometimes the feelings get acted out by our children. When we discuss thoughts and ideas, history and emotions, we clear the way for something new to occur… something that’s not driven by feelings but by collective thought.
7) Collective thought. It’s a nice idea, isn’t it? We’re smarter together than we are seperately.
8) Community. It’s hard to create a sense of community in a world that is fragmented by distance and technology. Community wide reading events remind us that we are just that — a community. We share the same space. We all chose to move here, to this specific place in the world, and now we all share a common goal — whether we’re at the top or bottom of the economic spectrum, whether we’re Repubilcans or Democrats, whether we’re married or single. Today we’re not defined by our demographic, but by our willingness to pick up a book and participate.
9) Variety. Community wide reading programs aren’t just about reading a book. They’re also about getting together and celebrating that book in a variety of ways. This past year my own community chose The Grapes of Wrath as the book everyone would read, so they showed the old movie starring Henry Fonda, and opened up the Franklin D. Roosevelt house and museum in Hyde Park. In Silicon Valley there will be book signings and a craft event, a blues concert and a one-man show, a birthday party for Martin Luther King, a quilt making program for kids, theater performances and much more.
10) Fun. Come on now, don’t you wish you lived in Silicon Valley? What does your community have that makes it unique? Every community can take the lead to bring its people together for a great time. We need more fun in the world.
Silicon Valley, as you read together in the weeks to come, know that you’ve inspired at least one person by your example. Have a great time, think powerful thoughts, and show your kids the way it’s done!